


Squats Will Save Your Life One Day

by ZipperNova



Category: Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Annoying, First Meetings, Gen, He also has like no self awareness, I don't actually know, Squats, Training, Zack is probably about 14, hyperactive, puppy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-05
Updated: 2019-09-05
Packaged: 2020-10-10 06:30:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20523494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZipperNova/pseuds/ZipperNova
Summary: For as long as Angeal had been a member of SOLDIER, he couldn't remember a single time where someone had told him that raising some extremely hyper child that he had zero relation to, was in his contract.





	Squats Will Save Your Life One Day

For as long as Angeal had been a member of SOLDIER, he couldn't remember a single time where someone had told him that raising some extremely hyper child that he had zero relation to, was in his contract.

"Come now Angeal, he's not that bad, surely." Genesis smiled.

"Like a puppy." Angeal gritted.

"Yappy?" Sephiroth asked, somewhat rhetorically.

" _ Hyper. Doesn't listen, shortest attention span, so far up my ass that I can't even  _ ** _sit_ ** _ without-" _

"Why do you entertain him if you find him annoying?" Genesis interrupted.

"I don't  _ entertain  _ him." Angeal argued. "He won't leave."

"What does that mean?"

"That he keeps showing up."

"Just tell him to go."

"It's not that simple."

"Aren't you a  _ SOLDIER?"  _ Sephiroth asked with a smirk. Angeal stared at him, jaw shifting as he ground his teeth.

" _ That's  _ why he won't leave."

Sephiroth hummed in understanding. So Angeal's  _ puppy _ stuck around so much because of the elder's status.

"What, does he plan on using you?" Scoffed Genesis.

With a sigh that sounded as if his soul itself was leaving his body, Angeal explained. "He  _ dreams  _ of being a 1st Class SOLDIER."

"What is he now?"

"3rd."

An uncharacteristic snort left Genesis. "Good luck." He chuckled.

Angeal pinched the bridge of his nose. The kid was truly going to be the death of him, and where was the honor in that?

"So," Sephiroth finally spoke up again. "He's annoying."

"Incredibly."

"But you won't tell him to go away?"

There was no response to that.

"Have you tried to tell him to go away?"

Angeal stared at the tile in front of him as if it were the one he was listening to.

"Hewley." Sephiroth scolded in a teasing tone. "You haven't even tried to get rid of him." Genesis raised his brows as a smile spread across his face.

"Angeal," he lilted. "The Banora Whites have spilled!"

"How am I supposed to tell some kid to buzz off? He looks up to me, to SOLDIER in general. I can't just brush him off." Angeal argued.

"Nobody said you had to be mean about it."

"Then what am I supposed to say?"

The three had their attention drawn to the sudden pounding of military grade boots hitting the floor at a speed that shouldn't be allowed indoors. Angeal instinctually lowered his head and hid behind a hand at the side of his face.

"Hey! Have you guys seen Angeal!" A spikey, black haired youth asked Genesis.

The brunette held back another snort as he pointed to his friend on the couch next to him. The young teen jerked his head to the other male.

"Angeal!" He exclaimed with even more excitement than before.

"Zack…" Angeal deadpanned.

"Hey, when are you gonna tell me about your last mission? You said you would! Oh! When are we gonna train together! You're gonna help me right?" The boy bounced on his toes as he fired off question after question. Angeal went back to pinching the bridge of his nose as Sephiroth and Genesis only half hid their humor.

"Quite a bit of energy." Genesis muttered. Sephiroth hummed his agreement and nodded.

"Huh?" Zack asked with the tilt of his head.

"Zack." Angeal said firmly, effectively grabbing the boy's attention again.

"Yeah?" He smiled.

"What do you want?"

"Wh- I wanna train!" Zack responded, arms out, as if it were the most obvious thing. Angeal had already known what the answer was going to be, so Zack's tone wasn't misplaced.

"Right." The new mentor groaned as he ran a hand down his face.

Zack continued to bounce in place, his energy seeming to increase as he started becoming more animated while talking about getting stronger. The noise and hyperactivity was enough to make Angeal want to go to bed and never get up again. The kid had enough spirit for all of SOLDIER. Hell, probably all of Midgar.

"It's gonna be great! You're gonna teach me how to use a sword real well and probably fist fighting too! And then when I'm in some crazy fight with a monster someday, and it knocks my sword way across the field, I can do a crazy jump attack and kick it's ass probably! Like punch punch it and do all kinds of-"

"Zack!" Angeal interrupted with a slightly raised voice. The 3rd Class SOLDIER paused in his flurry of fake fighting to look at the other, eyes bright with determination. "I'm gonna let you in on a little secret." Angeal turned so he was partially facing the back of the couch where Zack stood.

"Oh!" Zack exclaimed with clenched fists at his chest, like a child. "Tell me, tell me!" He bounced on his toes again.

"This technique is top secret, got it?" Angeal continued.

"Yeah!"

"You can't tell anyone where you learned it."

"Okay!"

"You promise?"

"Yeah, yeah! What is it, what is it!?"

Angeal looked at his friends, who returned it expectantly, unsure of what he was going to tell the young boy.

"Only 1st Class SOLDIERS know this, got it?" Angeal started again.

"Yeah! Tell me!" If Zack were to rocket through the ceiling, nobody would really be surprised. Not with how much he was vibrating. He looked like the physical representation of a spring wound tight, just waiting to uncoil and rocket off.

"Squats."

"Squats?" Zack asked softly, his head slowly cocking to one side again.

"Squats?" Genesis asked incredulously.

"Squats." Angeal nodded, ignoring his friend.

"What do squats do?" Zack asked as he stood straight.

"Squats… they, make your legs stronger, for one… and having strong legs is important right? Remember how you were talking about kicking monster butt?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, you gotta train your whole body, and SOLDIERS use squats to help train their legs."

Zack's expression changed from confused, to considering, to determined, all in the span of a minute.

"Right! That makes sense! Okay Angeal, I'll do squats starting now!" He declared.

"A-and make sure you do them when you have the most energy. Squats take a lot of hard work, especially to the degree that 1st's do them." Angeal bullshit.

"Okay!" Zack nodded. He turned to the side to begin his first set of squats. "Uh, how do I do it?"

"Oh my planet…" the older man rushed out under his breath. Genesis snorted again and Sephiroth held back a scoff.

"Yes Angeal, show him how it's done." Genesis smiled. The glare he received in turn only served to make him chuckle.

Angeal stood from his spot on the couch and moved to stand beside Zack. He first tried to verbally direct the boy, but he proved to be a little less competent with just instructions--no surprise considering he never picked up that Angeal  _ didn't _ want to train him. After man handling the kid, Zack gave a few test squats. With the newfound approval, Zack gave the biggest smile Angeal had ever seen. Something inside him seemed to change at that look.

"Thanks Angeal!" Zack said as he began doing more squats. "How many am I supposed to do?"

"Uh," Angeal blinked a couple times before his brain caught up with the question. "Until your legs are tired. And then do more."

"Okay!" Without pausing for the conversation, Zack was already well on his way to a never ending distraction. "When's a good time to do them?" He asked with sudden seriousness.

"Uh, always. Whenever you have free time. So," Angeal paused before a metaphorical light bulb went off. "So whenever you're ready to train and I'm not around, just do squats. Or," he trailed off as he thought. How was he supposed to get Zack to do squats as a distraction from finding him?

"You said when I have a lot of energy right? So when I first wake up?" Zack asked, eyes locked on the elder as he moved up and down.

"Y-yeah, if you can." Did this kid really have  _ that  _ much energy right when he woke up? He'd have to ask his commanding officer.

"Of course I can!" Zack paused in his squats to give Angeal a determined look. "I'll be sure to do squats every morning! And when I'm bored, and when I have nothing to do, and-"

"Maybe you can do them whenever you do that." Genesis interrupted as he motioned at Zack's figure with a finger.

"Do what?" The raven asked, once again tilting his head just slightly.

"That bouncing thing."

"Huh?"

"You  _ move _ ." Genesis clarified with clear annoyance. "You start  _ talking  _ and then you  _ move everywhere _ ."

"Oh?" Zack said slowly, clearly not understanding what the other was talking about.

"When you're excited." Sephiroth said simply.

"Oh!"

"Especially then." Angeal agreed.

"Okay!"

"That's when you have the most energy it seems."

"Yes, Angeal can tell because he's  _ such  _ a master." Genesis said sarcastically.

"Cool!" Zack exclaimed, once again over eager.

"Squats." Angeal commanded.

"Yes sir!"

With his first training regimine given, Zack seemed hyperfocused on his task. Continuing with his squats, Angeal walked around to the front of the couch again, raising his eyebrows in disbelief. His SOLDIER counterparts now understood his struggle.

"Zack?" Called a voice from down the hall. Pausing in his squats, the aforementioned male looked to the newcomer. "Dude, you're gonna be late, let's go!"

"Oh!" Zack exclaimed in sudden realization. "I gotta go, I'll see you later Angeal!" Turning to take off down the hall to the person that had called him, Zack gave a less personal goodbye to Genesis and Sephiroth before leaving.

"I'm exhausted." Genesis exhaled as he rest head on the back of the couch. Angeal agreed with a sigh of his own. "Do you think he knew you were Sephiroth?" The brunette then chuckled.

"I don't ever want him to know." Sephiroth deadpanned. Genesis gave a laugh.

"Well Angeal, I now see where your annoyance comes from. I don't blame you."

"Oh good." Angeal said sarcastically. "Now, how do I get rid of him?"

"You know what they say," Sephiroth started, ready to impart his wisdom on the situation. "If you feed a stray, it'll keep coming back."

"You heard him!" Laughed Genesis. "Looks like you have a new puppy Angeal!"

A sad groan left the raven haired man as his head fell back on the couch.

For as long as Angeal had been a member of SOLDIER, he couldn't remember a single time where someone had told him that taking in a stray puppy was in his contract. But he supposed that if he  _ really  _ wasn't interested, he would have never fed him to begin with.

**Author's Note:**

> I had this thought of, what if Zack was extremely hyper as a kid joining SOLDIER, found Angeal, and forced himself on him. Angeal, of course, was absolutely not ready to take on a pupil, so he made up the squats thing to distract the kid. Zack grew on him though, and thus we have the relationship we are familiar with in the end.
> 
> The idea came to me when playing Birth by Sleep. Zack was so young, and he broke into squats at weird times, so I thought, what if when he got over excited, Angeal taught him to do squats to help channel that energy. Zack never caught on that it was a distraction.
> 
> Excuse me while I shamelessly plug my twitter. Please talk to me about Final Fantasy. Mainly Zack and Gladnis. Twitter.com/ZipperNova


End file.
